Super Mario Adventures (Arc I)
by KoopalingKrew98
Summary: In light of the Mario video game franchise, with a taste here and there from the short-lived Super Mario Adventure comics, a new Mario story is told. A retelling of games you know and love, or are just getting introduced to, the story of Mario spans from his oldest origins, to his modern-day level jumping. Expect guest characters, famous quotes, allusions, and unexpecting twists!
1. Plumber Premiere (Part 1)

"The Mushroom Kingdom. Our land was once a peaceful place. Then, everything changed when the Koopa Troop attacked!"

"For generations, our people have waged war with the Koopas and their allies. Up until about a few years ago…life has been a battlefield. Now…nothing. It's like they vanished."

"But they're still out there. I know it! The Koopa King thinks he's so smug just sitting on his throne, the little gears grinding in his head, as he's plotting…scheming…and BA-BOOM!" General Toad slaps his thin rod against the projector screen. "One clean swipe off the map is all we'll be! We're just sitting ducks in our isolated capitol..."

"Ahem…", whispers the princess, who was standing a few feet off to the side.

General Toad squints into the darkened conference room, just barely seeing the outline of the Toads trembling in fear. "Er…excuse me. Well, I think I'll let our princess take it from here."

Peach steps up in front of the projector screen, facing her worried subjects. "Now, the Koopa Troop has been inactive for over a decade now, and even before, their numbers had been mighty low since they had a change in leadership. Although the Mushroom Wars have diplomatically ended, time has not healed old wounds yet. So it is best to assume that…the Koopa _King_…will strike soon!"

The Toads murmur in agreement. "Since he still has no physical kingdom," Peach continues, "and no other kingdom has reported any sighting of his current encampment, it is to my knowledge that they have crossed into the Valley of Desolation".

Now the Toads really begin to speak out to each other. One of them turns to her and asks, "Even if what you say is true, are you sure we are ready?"

"Yeah," pipes up another Toad, "I mean, Donut Plains is still unstable, many non-Toad citizens remain unchecked for legality, and your father…" Everyone goes silent after bringing him up.

"I know," sighs Peach, "I've been newly appointed, and I have huge shoes to fill after everything my father's done for our kingdom up to his dying breath. But that is why you are here. With your collective knowledge and experience with the Mushroom Kingdom, I need that kind of help if I am to lead our troops to the inevitable. Our Mushroom Kingdom has survived this long, and we can still end this scathing struggle!"

"Here, here!" the Toads chant.

"Alright, now listen up!" barks General Toad, "The princess and I have discussed an operation, that will require stealth and nimble prowess. I ask for the enlistment of a relatively small task force, whom I will lead to the Valley of Desolation, and discover once and for all what those stinkin' Koopas are planning. So, do I have the council's approval?"

The Toads looks at each other for a brief moment. "We hope," responses one Toad as the others nod as he speaks, "that you, and the princess, know what we are getting our Mushroom Kingdom citizens into. That said, we will act upon your plans immediately."

"Thank you," Peach sighs in relief, "and I can assure you, that whatever happens from now, this Koopa King and his followers will once and for all be…"

* * *

"Finished!"

"Finally!"

Meanwhile, in another place, in another world entirely, two young men have just finished tightening up the last of the sewage pipes in a Brooklyn apartment basement. The one with a shirt and cap clad in red climbs down a ladder, meeting up with the other with a shirt and cap clad in green, who carefully crawls out from under some pipes. The two walk over to one side of the room where they left their supplies, and slide their backs against the wall side by side until they are sitting on the floor.

"Phew, well done, bro!" says the one in red, "Third customer today; a new record."

"Not to mention, this particular one had multiple plumbing issues!" The one in green groans, "What's-a their deal anyway? They ding their pipes, call us over, and then go on vacation?"

"Oh, are you not feeling 'nuff to snuff' now?" teases the red one.

"Okay, just because you were born _two_ minutes ahead of me, doesn't mean I'm too young to keep up with you!" the green one playfully replies. "And I could've easily reached that pipe near the ceiling better than you did."

"If you're still irked about having to crawl under those lower pipes, I'd have you know that you are much more nimble and…smaller to reach those tight spots."

"Nah, I wasn't…I'm irked. But I am _starving_ right now! It's been hours since we last ate!"

"Ha ha, just like always! Come one," The two stand up, lifting a toolkit in each hand. "Let's-a go out for some lasagna you always love!"

"You mean the lasagna _you_ always love!" laughs the green one as he elbows his brother in the gut. They both laugh as they head out of the basement and onto the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

That night, they take off their caps and change out of their work clothes, putting on more casual attire, with their respectively colored ties. The brothers head down to Brooklyn Bridge Park to meet up with some childhood friends at their favorite restaurant: Segale's Eat-Alia. At the restaurant desk entrance, the brothers are greeted by two Japanese employees.

"Hello, Mario," greets the younger one with glasses. "Luigi, glad you guys could make it again!"

"Hi, Shigeru." replies the one in the red tie. "Wouldn't miss it!"

"Hello!" replies the one in the green tie. "So, we aren't getting into as much trouble as last time, are we?"

"Well fortunately no," chuckles Shigeru. "Our assistant manager here, Minoru, managed to talk things out with Manager Segale, and while we had to cough up quite a bit of cash to finally keep him moot last time, Minoru broke an even deal to give us the special seating."

"Don't forget," Minoru chimes in, "that it was also a good thing Pauline is a persuasive speaker."

"Speaking of her, let's-a not keep her waiting," says the one in the red tie, "nor waste those good seats you guys won over."

"Well said, Mario" says Shigeru, "Right this way!"

"Finally, food!" cheers the one in the green tie, "Thanks again, Minoru!"

"Your very welcome, Luigi" Minoru replies as he prepares to greet the next customers.

Shigeru leads the brothers over to a secluded room, with a decorative fireplace, a large window view of the East River, and a table with plenty of room for four. Waiting for them at the table is a young woman in her mid-twenties, with long and flowing burgundy hair, lavender eyes, and a long, pale red skirt.

"Mario! Luigi!" shouts the young woman as she stands up to greet them, "It's been too long!"

"Ah, Pauline!" said Mario, "Your tour has brought you back home?"

"Yes! Well, for now it has. And what a better way to return home than to spend the first evening back with old friends!"

"Well, at least you haven't forgotten the Mario Brothers' favorite dining spot" says Shigeru. "I prepared our drinks and bread already, and Minoru will come by soon to take our orders."

Before the others sit down, Mario graciously pulls out a chair for Pauline. Minoru shortly arrives, taking orders from each of them. When he returns half an hour later, he brings a specialized pizza for Shigeru, pasta for Mario, lasagna for Luigi, and a clam sauce for Pauline. Before long, they start to chat as much as eat their own food.

Mario is telling the others about a trip to the beach on a very hot day with his brother. "…so Luigi got up off his reclining chair, looked all over the beach, and wondered why everyone else was-a complaining of sunburn. Then this girl came by and asks how he managed to keep his skin so light. But he got so flustered from the attention that his face turned red as the sun, and she thought she was-a mistaken!"

Everyone laughs; even Luigi joins in the laughter, while also going a little red in the face with embarrassment.

"Could you pass the olive oil for my bread roll, Mario?" Pauline asks.

"Sure thing" says Mario, as he passes the vial over to her on his left. He then turns to Shigeru across from him. "So Shigeru, how have your college classes been going?"

"There are going pretty well" he replies. "Botany has so far been my favorite extra curriculum, but I am still giving my full attention to my main classes. Someday soon, I will become a world-class software designer." He finishes his sentence while striking a Superman-like pose.

"My, my!" remarks Pauline. "You unbending spirit hasn't changed since our days in the orphanage."

"Oh yes" says Shigeru as he reclines back in thought. "Fond memories. All those adventures we had together. Our fearless leader 'Super Mario' led us through strange worlds those years. But I bet you guys have had great adventures now that you finished college yourselves. Pauline, from all the traveling you have spoken about, it sounds like you've been to more places than any world leader!"

"Oh no, that's not true" she says bashfully, "I've only been to maybe a dozen or so major cities in America, and perhaps a couple countries afar. I'm still young in my freelance profession, so I've still got so many more places to go, and sights to see."

"Your resume is quite impressive regardless" says Luigi between mouthfuls of lasagna.

"Speaking of which," she leans over to Mario and puts a hand on his lap, "thanks again for helping me with the commercial pitch. The C.E.O. was very pleased."

Mario blushes a bit, "It was-a nothing. Playing that 'Mr. Video' character was-a surprisingly seamless"

"Yeah," says Luigi, "when it comes to my bro, no one has more style in front of an audience."

As the conversation goes on, Mario starts to take more and more interest in the food in front of him.

"So what about you two?" Shigeru asks, "Has your plumbing business been 'smooth sailing' still?"

"Oh yeah" Mario looks up from his plate. "Luigi and I are-a still in it."

"I think we've become the most popular plumbers in Brooklyn now" says Luigi.

Shigeru adjusts his glasses. "Are you still thinking about joining a major league sport?"

Mario smirks a bit as he puts his utensils down. "Perhaps. I…I just can't decide which one to choose."

"Well, good things come to those who wait. If you rush it, it probably won't lead to good results."

Their dinner raps up with all smiles, and Mario and Luigi head back to their apartment. As the two get into their pajamas and get ready to sleep, Luigi notices Mario is a bit more silent than usual, siting on his bed.

"What's up, bro? You've been a little quiet since our dinner reunion." Luigi walks over to his own bed next to his brothers, sitting right across from him. "Hey, aren't you glad Pauline's back?"

Mario smiles a bit. "Well, yeah I'm-a glad. That's-a not it, though."

"So what is it?" Luigi snaps his fingers. "I got it! I know what you need: more plumbing! You always had a knack for plumbing, and I'll bet that rush of adrenaline from three clients in a row has worn you out big time. So how about…

Mario waves his hands in front of him. "No, no. I mean, I guess, but…" he sighs, "I just feel like something's-a missing. Something that leaves me incomplete. I thought it was plumbing, and don't get me wrong, we're good."

"We're _super_ good!"

"But now, I think that isn't quite my calling." Mario stands up and paces between their beds. "I need something bigger. Something grander. Something that keeps me on my toes. Something like…like…"

"An adventure." Mario turns toward his brother, smiles, and nods. Luigi stands up to face his brother. "Mario, we've been through everything together. And you know, that I know, that you've always been good at just about anything you put your hands on. And you are a great leader. Remember those times we ventured through the ventilation shafts to get goodies for the other kids?"

"Yeah, those adventures were amazing."

"Well, I may have use to be an adventurer like you, but now, I've found happiness in the simplicity of life. We can still find little mini-adventures around New York."

"True," smiles Mario, "it does feel like almost everything extra-ordinary happens in New York."

"See? Adventure is out there. Just you wait." The two get under the covers of their beds. "I'll bet that tomorrow, your true calling will come."

Mario laughs, "I hope you're-a right, Weegee. Good night."

As the two go to sleep, and dream of better days, a sink in another apartment begins to rattle…


	2. Plumber Premiere (Part 2)

RING! RING!

"Ug, what time is it?" murmurs Luigi as he places his pillow over his head.

Mario groggily gets out of bed, and trudges over to the phone in the hallway outside their bedroom. With a stretched yawn, Mario answers the call. "Hello? Mario Brothers Plumbing, no leak too small…"

"Sorry if this is a bad time, but things have gotten so bad with my pipes here, I just had to call. So could you please come over to Myrtle Ave as soon as you can?"

"Of course, mam, we'll be ready in…"

RING! RING!

"Oh boy…" groaned Luigi, tightening his pillow over his ears.

"Excuse me mam, one moment…" Mario presses a button on the phone to switch to the next customer. "Hello? Mario Brothers Plumbing, no leak too…"

"Oh thank goodness you're up! My wife just found a huge puddle in our basement, and it's coming from our pipes. Could you come over to Pacific Street? My wife is getting increasing worried."

"Yes sir, as soon as…"

RING! RING!

"Oh for…" Luigi glances over to the bedside clock. "…five-thirty…in the morning…really?"

Now Mario was really awake. "Hold on a second, sir..." One button press later: "Hello? Mario Brothers Plumbing…"

"Yes look please come over quick, I've got sewage water backin' up out of the toilet, so could you please come to 10th Street…"

RING! RING!

"What the heck?" Mario puts a hand over the speaker as he turns to the bedroom. "Luigi! Could you please check our email box? If the phone lines are-a this bad…"

"I'm on it." Luigi grunts as he slumps over to the computer.

Mario switches lines again. "Hello…"

"HELP!" shouts a female voice on the other line

RING!

"Hey, red and green dudes, we have a mondo problem…" says a teenage voice on another line.

RING!

"Hey, Mario, get down right now! This is an immediate emergency!" says a male voice.

Mario begins to get dizzy as more and more calls flood in. Mario leans up against a wall as he tries to collect his bearings. _"This is-a really weird!"_ thought Mario, "_So many pipes broken, in one night? And they're-a all around Brooklyn…"_

"YIKES! Maaario!" Luigi shouts franticly, "There must be over a hundred requests for plumbing issues. Most of them seem to be clogs of some sort."

Mario switches the line back to the first woman. "Mam, you still there? Good, we'll be over in no time." Mario switches the lines to connect to all who dialed in. "Listen up everyone. There seems to be a city-wide issue with the plumbing. There's only two of me, and we can only work one at a time. So please understand, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Mario hangs up the phone, taking some deep breaths.

Luigi walks up to him. "So what now, bro?"

All the wheels in Mario's head start turning. _"So many pipes…a Brooklyn mystery…pipes…"_

Luigi puts a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You alright, bro?"

Mario turns to Luigi, a smile stretching across his face, and a fiery passion burning in his eyes. "Oh yes, Weegee, I'm better than alright. I think I found that calling I was waiting for!" Mario bolts up and sprints back into the bedroom. "Yes! 'Super Mario' is back into action!"

"Woah, woah, slow down a bit!" Luigi follows his brother into the bedroom, where he's already changing into his red shirt and blue overalls. "Shouldn't this be a job for the detectives, or the police, or…we can't handle a situation this huge. We're just plumbers."

"Well then," Mario flips on his red cap, fully dressed, and clenched fist, "Let's go practice plumbing!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in another world, General Toad gathers his newly organized Toad Patrol near the border of the Valley of Desolation.

"Alright, captains, listen up!" The Toads line up in front of General Toad in a soldier stance. "We are about to embark on a secret mission. We want no part in a new war. Just because you're given the title of 'Captain', doesn't mean you get to engage the enemy on your own right. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" say the Toads nervously.

"Now, our objective is to locate our enemy's camps. Intelligence points to most of them being right across there." General Toad points behind him toward the Valley of Desolation. "So fortunately for us, we won't have to engage them there, this time. However, rumors have recently come about that there are Goombas grouping up suspiciously by Hither Thither Hill, not far from here." A few Toads spit on the ground when the Goombas are mentioned.

"So are mission is straightforward: find out what those traitors are up to, and disrupt them with minimal casualties. Are you with me?"

"Yes sir!" The Toads say with more enthusiasm.

"Then let's move out!"

They pick up their belongings and march behind General Toad, with one particularly worried Toad bringing up the rear.

* * *

By 7:30AM, Mario and Luigi go to their first client on Myrtle Ave, dressed in their red and green attire respectively, tool kits at the ready.

"I've-a never felt so excited in years!" says Mario as the two walk up the apartment steps.

"We're just going to fix our customers plumbing, right bro?"

"Of course!" winks Mario as they reach the client's door. After a couple of knocks, the woman opens the door.

"Oh thank goodness you came as soon as you did. I'm Mrs. Floyd" greeted the woman.

"I'm-a Mario!" He shakes her hand. "And this is-a my brother, Luigi."

"Hi!" Luigi says, also shaking her hand after Mario. "So what sort of problem are we dealing with?"

"If only I knew" she replied, "Please, right this way." Mrs. Floyd leads the brothers over to the kitchen, and points to the sink. "It started last night; started rattling up like crazy. It was so bad, my husband and I were kept up all night. And when we checked, we also heard strange, faint sounds coming up the pipes."

Luigi put his ear over the sink. "Hm…I don't seem to hear anything right now…"

Suddenly, the sink shook violently in place. Luigi gave a yelp as he jumped back in shock. Mario stood there dumbfounded. "How's-a the water?" Mario asks Mrs. Floyd, "Anything suspicious about it in terms of the sink?"

"No, not really," she replied. "It does splash about when the sink shook, so we turned the valve off."

"Very good. Let me take a look under the sink then." Mario crouches down and opens the cabinet doors to the pipes under the sink, which also shook as much as the sink itself. "Geez, the pipes almost look like they're-a going to bust out of place!" Mario stands back up. "I wonder…have you checked the pipes in your basement?"

"No" replied Mrs. Floyd, "but someone else in the apartment was trying to call you earlier about that."

So Mario, Luigi, and Mrs. Floyd head down to the basement area, and find out that many of the pipes are rattling against each other, ringing as loud as church bells.

"Yikes!" Mario clasped his gloved hands over his ears, as the other two did the same. "Let's-a go back; I think we've seen enough." Luigi nodded in agreement. It wasn't until they went back to ground level and closed the basement door behind them that everything went reasonable silent. "If things are-a so bad here, I'm-a surprised this problem hasn't spread throughout this neighborhood."

"Actually," Mrs. Floyd starts, "my friend down the street has also had plumbing issues. And so have others…"

"Oh no." Luigi facepalmed. "We'll never get every customer done today."

Mario ponders for a minute. "If this whole street is getting backlogged plumbing…then we must get to the root of the problem: the sewers." Mario starts jumping in excitement. "Let's-a get going now!"

"Wait bro, shouldn't we get some more gear back home? We never checked the sewers before in our plumbing careers."

"Oh don't worry. We're the Mario Brothers! We handle just about everything."

"But…"

"Mrs. Floyd, we'll be back soon, with your pipes back in working order."

"Alright" she replies, "My husband is busy out making sales, but when he returns, he'll be able to pay you then!"

Mario and Luigi head out into the street, and run over to the nearest manhole cover. Mario lifts the cover off, and strange, soft sounds begin to echo out of the sewers.

"Can we go back now?" moaned Luigi, "I think I'd prefer to fix our clients' apartments than this underground hole.

"Are-a you kidding me? And miss out on this opportune adventure? Come on, don't tell me you're-a going to chicken out now."

Luigi looks down at the sewer, then back up to his brother. He sighs, "All right, you do have knack for fixing _all_ plumbing. But this better be worth the job."

"Then let's-a go!" Mario jumps up and into the manhole opening.

Luigi tentatively puts his legs in, then takes one more deep breath. "Okey-dokey!" Luigi calls back. He hops into the sewers with a small splash. "Eck, well this is just gratifying."

Mario pulls out a flashlight. "Come on."

For a while, nothing but the sound of drips and trickling water filled the sewers. Then the same strange sound came through. The sewer vibrated like a small tremor.

"Sounds like a compressed boom" Mario ponders. "An earthquake perhaps?"

Luigi holds onto his hat. "It better not be. I don't like the idea of being trapped in here…" Suddenly something begins to walk over Luigi's foot. "WAAA" he cries as he kicks the critter into the air further down the sewer.

"What was that?" Mario leads a shuttering Luigi over to where the creature fell. As Mario shines the flashlight on it, they see a strange turtle creature, stuck upside-down on its shell, its feet wiggling in the air as it tries to right itself. The brothers look at it confused. "Never seen anything like this turtle before; not like how I pictured one anyway."

Luigi still hides behind Mario's back. "Looks kind of creepy to me."

The Shellcreeper then turns its big beady eyes onto the brothers. The two watch in shock as his shell starts changing in color, from green to purple. "I also don't remember turtles changing colors" says Mario.

The Shellcreeper flips back onto its feet, made a sort of chirping sound, and rushed at the brothers. Startled, they both jump out of the way as it runs past them. "I also don't remember turtles moving faster than slow…" says Luigi. Suddenly, the Shellcreeper comes running back after the brothers, who drop their tool kits and flee in fright from their pursuer. "I don't remember turtles being this aggressive either!"

The two run through the sewers, turning every way they can to try to throw it off their trail, but to no avail. Eventually, the two make it into a larger area with twisting pipes, where they fling themselves onto the floor just out of the way of the Shellcreeper. It keeps running past them and into a nearby smaller pipe.

"I think…we lost it" Mario panted, standing back up.

"Oh I think…we have certainly…lost it" gasped Luigi. Then they heard a few chirping sounds above them. They slowly look up to find dozens and dozens of green Shellcreepers.

"Mama mia!" The brothers shouted.

Luigi started to back away slowly. "Shelled creeps everywhere! Well, bro, I think we've reached the limit of our job description…so…can we go back now?"

Mario looked around at the creatures above him. Then he looked down at his two hands, with the flashlight in his right. "Here. I've got a plan." He tosses the flashlight over to Luigi, who briefly fumbles trying to catch it.

"Wait! What are you…what am I…"

Mario puts his right hand into a fist and clasps it with his left. "I think these pipes need a good sponging. Weegee, spot for me. Time for these 'Shellcreepers' to get shell-shocked!"

"Oh geez, the puns, too?"

But Mario already leaps into action. "Hm, these green ones are-a slow like they're supposed to. This should be easy as pasta!"

At first he tries to kick the lower ones, but that only seems to get their attention. As a group of them surrounds him, Mario leaps up to grab the pipe above him, accidently knocking off a Shellcreeper. It falls on its back, wiggling its feet helplessly. Mario remembers the one Luigi kicked earlier, and not wanting it to get back up with more gusto, he quickly comes right back down and kicks the downed Shellcreeper. It chirps wildly as it slides into a stream of water and out of sight.

"Now we're-a getting somewhere. Weegee, keep that flashlight on me; I need them to be where I can see them."

Luigi steadies the light on his brother as best he can, but that becomes easier said than done, as Mario jumps from pipe to pipe. The red plumber soon gets a rhythm going, punching pipes to cause Shellcreepers to lose their balance and fall over onto their shells. And before they could get up, Mario kicked them down. Even the purple one from earlier succumbed to the plumbers swift jumping and kicking prowess. Within a few minutes, all the Shellcreepers were cleared from the area.

Mario wiped his hands together. "Considering the bizarre circumstances, I'd say our enemies' chances to rise to the surface just went down the drain!"

Luigi slowly recomposed himself. Then he smirked at his brother, "Normally, I'd say your puns are as bad now as they were back in daycare, but after that eye-worthy stunt, I'd say you earned it. As for me," Luigi turns toward the large pipe they were chased out of, "I'd say we go back up and check on Mrs. Floyd to see if this fixed her sink troubles."

Suddenly, a cell phone in Mario's back pocket rings. "We have reception down here?" He takes a peek at it. "It's-a Pauline!" Mario presses a couple of buttons. "Hello, Pauline?"

"Mario!" a hint of panic comes through her voice. "Is this a bad time? Are you busy at work?"

"No, not at the moment. Why?"

"You won't believe it unless you see it. Come down by my house, quick! It's crazy over here!"

Mario looks at Luigi, looking just as confused. "Don't worry, Luigi and I are on our way!" He hangs up. "Seems like things just got weirder."

Luigi begins to look worried. "Oh no, you have that look again."

"Come on, it's-a Pauline, for crying out loud. She could be in danger for all we know."

"I know, I know. But we just dealt with Shellcreepers from who knows where. And I got this feeling that things over by the East River are a whole lot worse!"

"Well, that's why I've got you to tag along, right? We're the Mario Brothers! If we can handle a few turtles, how bad could it be?"

* * *

The Toad Patrol makes it to Hither Thither Hill, and crouch behind a top of a hill. General Toad looks through a pair of binoculars to spy on some Goombas down the hill, who patrol a small camp that blocks the way leading into an inlet between two hills.

"Hm, I'll bet you fellas eight red coins that there's something between those hills they don't want anyone to see." He looks up at a nearby Windmill, and then puts his finger into the air to check for a breeze. "Alright men, here's what we're going to do. One of you is going to go to that windmill and change the speed to cause a huge breeze over the hills. This should get the Goombas' attention, and the rest of you will follow me past the abandoned camp to take a look at what they're hiding. So, who's going to be our lucky volunteer?"

Everyone else looks down at their feet. The scared Toad quakes in his shoes, praying he isn't picked.

"Alright then, how about you!" General Toad points to the scared Toad, who yelps to attention. "What's your name, soldier?"

"M-m-my name?" stammers the Toad. "It's um, T-T-Toad."

"Ah a strong name" says General Toad sternly. "Then you should have no problem staying by the windmill and making a few adjustments, you mind, captain?"

Captain Toad stands as straight and still as he can. "Y-y-yes, s-sir!"

"Then march to it! Everyone else, let's get into position!"

While the rest of the Toad Patrol head to the right side of the two hills, Captain Toad rushes over to the windmill. Inside, wooden gears and logs grind against each other. Some switch blocks float above the center of the floor.

Captain Toad takes deep breaths. "Okay, Toad, you can do this. Just change the direction…"crank up the speed, and then wait…" he gulps "…until the Goombas…come." Toad goes over to one block, and jumps up to hit it a few times to turn the windmill toward the Goomba camp. Then he walks under another block. "…crank up the speed, and then wait…" he gulps "…until the Goombas…come." He starts to hit the block, but as he jumps, he gets more and more frantic. After the tenth jump, he becomes increasingly worried of what the Goombas will do once they get to the windmill.

"Ack! I did it! I'm out!" Toad screams as he raced out the windmill. The blades already are turning at a fast pace, and are racing faster still. "I've got to get to the safety of the general! I've got to get to the safety of the general!" Toad runs so fast, he forgets which hill the Toad Patrol was meeting.

The windmill is now creating gale-force winds, getting the attention of the Goombas all the way at the camp.

"What the heck is up with this wind?" says one Goomba.

"It's coming from the windmill" says another.

"Hold on," shouts another, "we can't leave here. The Koopa King said so."

"So what do we do?" says another Goomba, struggling to keep his balance. "We…ah!" The windmill now gets out of control, and knocks the Goomba off his feet, and into some bushes by the right side of the hill. When he comes to, he is surrounded by some startled Toads.

"We've been ambushed!" shouted the Goomba. "Everyone, get into defensive position!" The Goombas converge together into the center of the camp, before stumbling back out to the edge of the camp.

"Sticks at the ready, soldiers!" General Toad hollered. "The enemy has sighted us!" The Toads line up by the camp, face-to-face against the Goombas. The wind still bellowing in their ears as they stare each other down.

"I suggest you get lost, stuck-ups!" a Goomba grunted. "You wouldn't want the Koopa King involved too soon, would you?"

"We don't back away that easily, traitors!" spat General Toad.

"Fungi!"

"Mushnuts!"

The tension builds between them, while on the left hill, Captain Toad watches from a hiding spot. "Oh no…"

"CHARGE!" both sides shout. Some Goombas charge forward, while others leap head-first. The Toads ready their blunt spears in front of them. And then the battle begins.

* * *

Mario and Luigi make it to Pauline's house, by cab, near the East River. Pauline is in the middle of the street, helping to prop up another girl who looked half-faint.

"What's-a happening here?" says Mario.

"Oh, Mario" Pauline starts, "It's…"

"Giant fly…" the fallen girl, "A giant fly…flew up and up…"

"There, there, little girl." Mario starts to pull up his sleeves. "Tell me, where's the big bad fly that needs to get a few manners knocked in?"

Suddenly, all the nearby manhole covers pop off, and hundreds of huge flies buzz out of the sewers, flying every which way. The four of them scream in terror at the cloud of strange bugs.

"See, Mario," screamed Luigi, "you got what you wanted? Because I certainly didn't want any of this!"


	3. Plumber Premiere (Part 3)

"Quick, give me my wrench to throw! Maybe that'll work." Shouts Mario through the mass of swirling flies.

"Sorry bro, but we dropped all our gear when that Shellcreeper chased us earlier." Luigi replies.

While the brothers try to fight off the flies, Pauline is holding a fainted girl on her lap while she calls 9-1-1. A few minutes later, policemen and firefighters reach the scene. With guns drawn, it doesn't take long for the flies to bother them, too. Some policemen crouch in hopes of avoiding the onslaught, while most of the others begin firing rounds into the air. The flies spread out, desperately avoiding the bullets, and momentarily fly about in disarray. As some policemen try to fend them off, the other emergency teams begin to check the neighborhood to make sure everyone is alright. Mario and Luigi try to catch their breath when a firefighter checks up on them.

"No, we're alright, sir" says Mario, while Luigi gives his brother a dirty look. Mario points out to Pauline and the girl, and the firefighter goes to collect the girl, as he calls up a medical team to his position.

"Really?" cries a slightly ticked Luigi, "We're 'all right'? We just fought flies just under half your height, wearing mittens and booties, and…geez, I must've been having something" Luigi begins clutching his head as he lurches over in miscomprehension of what he just saw. Mario keeps squinting his eyes into the air, watching the flies above.

Suddenly, the buzzing of flies roars back to life as they regroup above the street, and form a focused aerial dive. The firearms of the police do nothing to stop their charge, and the flies return to swarm the street.

"Augh! The Fighter Flies are back!" says Luigi and his slides to the gravel this time. Mario starts spinning around and jumping every which way in a desperate attempt to swat the Fighter Flies away. Pauline stays close to Mario, with a broom in hand, as she tries to defend herself. Now more policemen flee from the scene, trying to lead civilians to safety.

The firefighters man their fire trucks, and use the hoses to spray away the Fighter Flies. The fly creatures back off and fly away toward the East River. As everyone breathes a sigh of relief, Mario looks toward the direction the flies flew, pondering.

Mario walks up to a tensed up Pauline. "Pauline, is this what you wanted to show me earlier?"

Pauline calms down a bit as she bringst her attention back into reality. "Not…really. While this was much worse, what was happening before was just as bizarre. You see, people in this area were screaming about these larger-than-normal turtles that were crawling out of the sewers and into their apartment basements."

"Those Shellcreepers we saw earlier!" Mario turns to his brother. "I bet the turtles and flies are-a somehow related." He then looked around, gesturing as he speaks. "We were-a just at Myrtle Ave, where there are-a plenty of food places those critters are probably attracted to. It isn't too far from here, where the turtles were-a heading from. Now these flies came by, and retreated to the East River over there, which sort of lines up with the same direction the Shellcreepers probably came from. So…"

"Oh no!" Luigi waved his hands in front of himself. "I see where you're going with this, and I don't think it's safe one bit! This is a job for the police, bro! Why not let them handle it?"

"Because they handled those Fighter Flies so well the first time, right?" Mario points to a few policemen still nearby, and still looking shaken up. Mario turns to Pauline. "How long ago did those turtle creatures come by here?"

"Um, I think it was about an hour or so from now?" she says.

"Hm, considering the turtles and flies can run like there's no tomorrow, it doesn't seem like they have any particular destination." Mario began to pace in front of Pauline and Luigi. "But they seem organized enough that they can defend themselves…and be on the offense. And if our wave of plumbing customers we hand early this morning are-a related to these critters causing mishaps…"

"In which case," says Luigi, "how about we go to them next, since they called for us?"

_"Myrtle Ave…Pacific Street…10__th__ Street…"_ Mario points his fingers in the air to assist him in making a mental map. Then his eyes grow wide. "…then those creatures covered a lot of ground…er, _under_ground…already!"

Luigi takes a second to think over what his brother said, and then his eyes grow wide, too. "Oh no! Then they're all over Brooklyn already?!"

"With the police force so thin, they'll probably be too busy to strike back at the invaders" gasped Pauline. "Then someone's got to strike them at they're source"

Mario tightened his cap. "Precisely. And I know just where we should look." Mario turns north toward the East River.

"Do we have to?" says Luigi. "Isn't someone else a bit more qualified for this? And what about our apartment, with these Shellcreepers and Fighter Flies out there"

"Come on, Weegee. We're the Mario Brothers! If we can handle speedy turtles and dog-sized flies, how much worse could it get?"

Suddenly, a soft, muffled boom sound goes off, and then the ground slightly shakes below them. Luigi gives Mario a stern look. Mario can only respond with a quick shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, wherever we're going, we better make it there fast" says Pauline.

* * *

"Toad Patrol, lower your spears and poke those traitors out of the way!" barks General Toad.

"Goomba Storm, dash forward with all the speed you got!" a Goomba yells.

The battle begins between the Toads and Goombas. The Toads stay in four equal rows as they charge forward toward they're enemies. This knocks over half of the Goombas who only chose to press forward. However, a bunch of Goombas leap into the air, crashing head first into the front three rows. The two middle rows of Toads do raise they're sticks into the air in retaliation, but it doesn't stop the Goombas from falling in between their ranks.

General Toad stays busy at the front lines, swishing his stick to and fro. The other Toads soon do the same. At first, the Toads have the upperhand in skill, spinning and sliding they're way through the marching of Goombas. Even outnumbered, their coordinated attacks under the guide of General Toad prove no match for the archaic, leaderless Goombas.

However, with a Toad-to-Goomba ratio of 1 to 10, the sheer number of Goombas eventually splits up the Toad Patrol into pairs, each surrounded by Goombas. Their sticks merely keep the Goombas at bay in a ring formation as the Toads go back to back. An hour in, the Toads begin to sweat bullets. The gale-force winds from the windmill subside when one of its gears strain too much and stops it in place. A poultry few Goombas do tire out enough to back off, but isn't enough to break the containment.

General Toad does catch on to the problem. He chains some head-stomps on Goombas to reach each pocket of his soldiers who begin to tire out. He gives his compatriots small rations of Super Mushrooms to help replenish their strength. He even uses his own head as a fighting weapon…literally! But even with his assistance, little ends the stalemate between the bitter enemies.

All the while, a lone Captain Toad hides in some bushes up on the left hill. His eyes stand fixated, staring at the battle scene, while the rest of his body quivers. "_Oh man, I messed up big time! I should've made sure that the windmill didn't go out of control. And now, because of me, I botched the sneak attack that General Toad was supposed to do. Oh, what should I do?"_ He nibbles his fingers. _"I want to help them somehow, but if I rush in there, those Goombas will surely spot me and headbonk me into submission! And what would General Toad say to me about my task…that I ruined?_ Toad puts his hands to his mushroom cap as he bends his head down and closes his eyes. _"Why did I sign up for this? I'm a coward! The whole town knows it! I had nothing to prove…"_ He opens his eyes again, looking back out to the battle. Just at that moment, he notices that the main activity of the battle had been moving slowly and surely away from the opening to the valley between the hills; exactly where General Toad was trying to lead his captains over to.

_"That one shot…that one opening…"_ Toad slowly gets up. _"The one chance to redeem myself, and help save the kingdom I live in."_ He puts a hand behind his back, checking to be sure his stick was still in its holster behind him. He then tries to give himself a look of determination. "Yes. I'll show them. Here I go." And with one deep breath, Toad carefully sneaks down the hill, past the chaotic battle, and into the valley.

* * *

Mario, Luigi, and Pauline reach the edge of the East River. Looking around, they see the Manhattan Bridge to their right, with ships bustling in and out of the Wallabout Bay. To their left, the Brooklyn Bridge crosses above a ferry dock, where a ferry boat begins to leave the dock on another scheduled ride. The water couldn't be calmer on an otherwise peaceful and sunny day.

Mario crouches close to the river, and puts a hand on the ground. "If those turtles and flies came from the sewers, there must be a way for them to get into them. Here is probably the closest open end to the sewer system under Brooklyn. But…something feels off about the pipeway underneath us. I can feel it. Can you, Weegee?"

Luigi taps his foot a bit, half distracted by his own inner thoughts. "I guess. Yeah, something doesn't feel right. Then again, in a catastrophe like this, why wouldn't everything feel off?"

"Wait, you guys can sense where all the pipes are, just like that?" says Pauline, both confused and amused. "I don't remember this ever coming up in our personal conversations."

Mario stands back up. "Yeah. Well, we don't know how, or why, but Weegee and I can feel exactly where all the pipes are and mentally map out where they lead. It's sort of a 'sixth sense' thing. Probably got mixed up with the "twin sense" we were supposed to get instead."

Luigi stifles a grin before looking over the water. "So, if the enemies did go by here to get into the sewers, where are they all now?"

Suddenly, a single Fighter Fly comes by from the Mahattan Bridge area, and hovers over the river. In its mittens, it holds a large blue cube, with the words 'POW' on it. It then notices the plumbers who spot it. Giving a snarky chortle, it drops the cube into the water before flying off again.

"What the heck was that block thing for?" says Mario.

FWOOOOOOSH!

A huge gush of water erupted in the middle of the East River, disrupting the passing ships and ferry. A muffled boom echoes off the city buildings.

"Well, there's the source of those boom-like sounds" says Luigi, as he holds his hat tight over his head, expecting a torrent of water to pour over them. Instead, hundreds of red crab-like creatures the size of fire hydrants rained down, riding the water waves created by the underwater explosion. Most of them successfully land along shore, and few land close to Mario and company.

"Oh no, not again!" screams Luigi. He tries to run back, but in his haste nearly runs in front of a passing concession stand.

"Whoa, young man, you look like you're in a time of need" says the salesman pushing the concession stand. "The name's Friendly Floyd. Need a drink? A hammer? A pair of sunglasses? You _name_ it, I've _got_ it!"

"Get these crabs off my tail!" hollered Luigi.

At this moment, Mario and Pauline are in a tussle with a few of crabs, who sidestep in a circle around them. Mario tries to punch them, but that merely makes them more irritated. Mario then tries to jump on one, but with a quick snap of his claw, it pinches Mario's foot. Mario cries in pain as he falls back into the middle of the circle, Pauline consoling him. One other crab approaches Luigi, sidestepping back and forth as it gets closer and closer.

"Please, not my goods, Sidestepper!" Mr. Floyd panics, "That's my life's sales!"

As the Sidestepper gets closer and closer, Luigi cannot take it anymore! Luigi begins to spin in place, and the Sidestepper stops inches away to avoid his flying fists. He spins faster and faster, with the Sidestepper clipping its claws in preparation for a precise pinch. Then, just when the Sidestepper winds back for the pinch, Luigi sweeps to the side, while simultaneously knocking over a large tank of lemonade on Floyd's concession stand. The Sidestepper misses its target, and instead latches hold of the lemonade tank, spraying the sugary liquid everywhere. Not only does the Sidestepper attacking Luigi slip up, but so does the Sidesteppers circling Mario and Pauline, as well as Luigi himself, who's spinning gets him a bit dizzy. Mario seizes the opportunity and kicks the upside-down crabs around him into the East River.

Meanwhile, the one Sidestepper that gave Luigi so much trouble managed to upright itself, and turned its shelled hide from red to blue. It quickly turns its attention to Luigi, who is still dazed from the spinning. Mr. Floyd takes his concession stand and flees the scene.

"No, Luigi, watch out!" cries Mario. Mario picks up a bit of speed before sliding on the slippery lemonade toward his brother. The Sidestepper also uses its increased speed to try to reach the green plumber. Fortunately, Mario beats its to Luigi, using all his momentum to slide Luigi out of the way. The Sidestepper isn't so lucky, as the lemonade spill provides little friction, and it just keeps slipping and slipping into a tree. With one hard face-plant, the blue Sidestepper falls over unconscious, and Pauline moves in to hit it away.

"Are-a you okay, Weegee?" says Mario as he helps his brother up. "You were in a bit of a pinch."

Luigi shakes his head and puts a hand to his forehead. "I think so."

Just then, a loud droning sound comes overhead, and the three look up to see some air force planes, coming in for assistance. They fly over the East River, deploying special toxins meant to paralyze crabs. At first, the plan works, as dozens of Sidesteppers still along the river flee in terror. But then the all too familiar buzzing sound returns, and the swarm of Fighter Flies engage the air force. Dogfights between jets and flies take place, the planes shooting at their small targets, while the Fighter Flies drop a POW block here and there to disrupt any coordination.

"Even the air force is having trouble with these invaders" gasped Pauline.

"Okay, this is really out of hand now!" says Luigi. "Come on, Mario, there's nothing more we can do…"

"Yes, there is" says Mario flatly. "We know for sure those creatures are-a coming from this area, and I bet if we can find their hiding place, we can hit 'em where they live."

"But we haven't been able to make a dent at their advances. Nobody has."

"Come on." Mario puts an elbow into Luigi's gut. "We're the Mario Brothers! We can…"

Now Luigi's face grows red with anger. He shoos Mario's arm away. "No, bro. First off, _you_ are Mario. I'm not you. I'm just a down-to-earth plumber who cares…so much…about you, enough to follow you to ends of the Earth. But that doesn't mean I'll follow you over the edge!"

"Over the edge? The whole city is-a going 'over the edge' already. Brooklyn; our city; our only home we know of. I care about you, too. And Pauline. And the rest of our friends and neighbors." Mario clenches his fists. "I'm fighting for all of that! I'm going out, where no man dares to go. I'm striking back so hard, that no creature would dare mess with us!"

"But look at you!" Luigi points to Mario's gloves, covered in bloody cuts and bruised spots. "Your hands are as battered as a rock to the grindstone. And your shoe! Oh, Mario, look at your foot. It's scraped and beaten beyond repair! I don't know how your foot isn't in pain, but we've got to get that checked. Pauline, help me take Mario…"

"I'm fine" says Mario, with an increasingly agitated and annoyed tone. "But it doesn't matter. There isn't much time. We got to stop them now!"

Luigi sighs, still fuming. "Fine, we'll stop them. But _I_ am going back to our apartment, where it's _safer_. _You_ run along on your _adventure_ you've always wanted." Luigi starts walking back into the city.

Mario is stung a bit by his words. "Wait…" he says faintly. "Luigi…" he says a little louder. Luigi stops for a second, then continues on. Mario looks at his blistered hands. Then his looks up at Pauline, who looks extremely worried and concerned.

"Mario…" she begins

Mario looks toward the East River again, the dogfight continuing above them, and the Sidesteppers now advancing into the city. "You better go somewhere safe, Pauline" he tells her, "and warn anyone else you know. There's no telling what those critters are after."

"What about you? Where will you go?"

Mario looks toward the Manhattan Bridge, his face growing stern. "Probably…somewhere wet."

* * *

Captain Toad tiptoes into the valley between the hills. With each step he takes, he gets more and more nervous. His right hand involuntarily bolts for the stick on his back once and a while before coming back down. On one occasion, he twiddles his thumbs as he glances back and forth. Nothing is there.

_"This isn't so bad."_ He turns back to the entranceway of the valley…only to find that he stepped a mere 25 feet into it. "Sheesh, really?!"

Suddenly, footsteps can be heard further down the valley. "Oh no. This is it!" Toad pulls his stick out in front of him, pointed at the ready, and runs up the side of the valley behind a cliff-face at higher ground. From his vantage point, he spots the creature who was coming: a Koopa Troopa. The Koopa walks casually to the entrance to the valley. For a few painstaking seconds, Toad stood crouching and leaning over the cliff-face, waiting to see what the Koopa would do.

Then after the Koopa left out of view, he quickly came back through, running as fast as he can, shouting, "I've got to warn my King! I've got to warn my King!"

_"No, no, no! He can't bring reinforcements into this! I've got to do something!"_ Toad tries to quickly and quietly step back down the hillside. Unfortunately, he steps onto a weak part of the foundation, and a mini rockslide slips Toad down the side. "AAAACK!" screamed Toad as he careened straight toward the unsuspecting Koopa. The turtle creature glances upward at the sudden noise, and all the rubble and Toad falls straight on him. Toad jumps on his head, flips into the air, and almost falls over when he lands feet first on the valley floor.

Toad takes a few deep breaths. He nervously looks back to where the rockslide ended up, and in the middle of the pile of debris lies the Koopa, hiding in its green shell. Toad creeps over to the shell, stick at the ready. When he gets close, he nervously takes his stick and pokes the shell. He stops. Nothing happens. He pokes it again. Nothing.

A smile grows on Toad's sooty face. "I did it. I did it! Yaha!" He begins to dance in place with glee. Suddenly the shell begins to shake, spooking Toad out. "Oh no you don't!" he says with a panic. In a moment of instinct, Toad delivers a swift kick to the green shell, and the Koopa spins down the valley, ricocheting off the sides, and out of the valley entrance toward the Toad-Goomba battle.

"Huh. Well, I hope that does more good than harm." Toad claps his hands together, and turns further into the valley.

* * *

Mario puts his hand in various places around the East River, trying to find an entryway to the sewers that shouldn't be there. His search leads him under the Manhattan Bridge. He touches the very edge of the water. A smile broadens on his face. "Gotcha."

Mario stands up and looks around. He is alone. Most of the brawls were taking place over and within the city now, both of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mario looks over the water. "Well, looks like my swimming skills are sure going to come in handy now." He takes a deep breath, and dives into the river.

Murky liquid and bits of trash swirled around the plumber. He tries to focus his attention to the abnormality he just detected. As he blindly follows his 'pipe senses', he does eventually brush up against the Brooklyn side of the river again. Feeling along the underwater wall, he eventually finds an opening he doesn't feel belong. He feels the air in his lungs starting to gasp for air, but trusting his gut more, he swims head first into the opening. Fortunately, it leads him into the familiar, tubular walls of a sewer, and shortly after that, a pocket of air.

Mario paddles to the surface and nearly chokes through the boggy sewage air. Mario swims a bit further until he finds a stretch of concrete to lift himself out of the water. After swishing the water out of his shoes and brushing the gunk out of his mustache, Mario walks further ahead down the sewer pipe, feeling his way to the enemies. His bad foot also starts to sting.

"Can't worry about that foot now" Mario curses under his breath, "Alright, you critters, where are-a you?"

As he walks deeper into the sewers, the eyes of Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers, and Fighter Flies glare at him with glee as they peer at their newest victim from the darkened nooks and crannies with glee.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Luigi walks back home. His hands in his pockets, head down, and mumbling to himself.

"Hey, young man!" says a familiar voice.

Luigi turns around. "Oh, it's just you, Floyd."

Friendly Floyd runs up to Luigi, concession stand in tow. "Hey, just wanted to say how great you and your brother were when you took out those Sidesteppers. That was certainly some spectacle! What do you guys do for a living?"

"We're plumbers." Luigi looks toward his feet. "Well, we were. I like the job enough, but, I did it with Mario. And I don't even know what my bro wants anymore now."

"Hm, sounds like you have a big 'leak', as you'd plumbers might say? Or a pipe that's in two? I don't know, I'm no plumber." Mr. Floyd digs into his concession stand and pulls out a suitcase. Then he fishes through the suitcase and pulls out two sledge-like hammers, each with an enormous 'head' attached to the handles. "Here, as thanks for the help back there, take these." He gives them both to Luigi, who falls over at the surprising weight he is holding.

"Wait, are you sure? What for? Why these?"

"Well, since you and Mario are plumbers, and brothers, I believe I'm not that far off when I say they'll be of use to you in something. Heck, probably more ways than one! But its first use, will probably be to 'make ends meet'."

Luigi looks at him perplexed for a moment. Then he looks down at the hammers he got. _"My bro would most certain take a liking to this hammer. Hm…I kind of like the hammers, too."_ Then a jolt of realization hits him. _"You know, maybe I've been itching for some of that 'adventure' stuff Mario's been taking about."_ Luigi looks up. "Wait, my bro! I've left him alone! I've got so save my bro!" He starts to bolt down the street. But then he turns around to shake Mr. Floyd's hand. "Thanks, Friendly Floyd! But I've got to help my bro, quick!" And with that, he takes his hammers in tow and sprints back to the East River.

"Wait!" says Mr. Floyd, trying to shout over the jets flying overhead at that moment. "I was also going to mention that you're going to have to pay for those! And my concession stand needs fixing too! Just a few hundred dollars is all!"

As Luigi gets closer and closer to the riverside, he passes by tanks that are engaging some Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers. While the turtles use their hard shells to take the bullets, the Sidesteppers leap at the tanks when they get close enough, snapping the mounted cannons off. Some Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers do take notice of Luigi, but with two new hammers in hand, Luigi simply spins and jumps around like a maniac, bashing away any who dare get in the way between him and his dear brother.

"Have at it, you snappy saps! What to mess with me now?!"

As he presses on, he just catches a glimpse at some Sidesteppers hauling a couple of tanks, and a downed jet, toward the river.

"Wait, what are they doing with those weapons?" And then a horrifying, calamity-contrived idea pops into his head.

* * *

Toad carefully presses on through the valley. "Come on, Koopas, I can take you. I can take you all."

He reaches a sharp turn. He leans against the rocky walls. He hears Koopas chatting and metal clanging around the corner.

"I can do this. I can take them. All I need to do…is take a peek at what they're doing…and then report straight back to General Toad." He clenches his stick harder. "I can do this. I can take them. I can take…" Toad steps out around the corner.

"Soon, all of the Mushroom Kingdom will belong to me!" says a deep voice.

"…h-h-h-h-him!" gasped Toad, as he fell back in shock, unconscious at the sight of a huge, spiked-shelled Koopa.

"Bwahahahaha!"


	4. Plumber Premiere (Part 4)

Mario steps through the sewers under Brooklyn, New York. "Come on out, turtles. I know you're-a down here somewhere." He drags his hand against the side of the sewer pipes, making a mental note to himself on where he's been. For over a while now, he has followed his 'pipe sense' through a part of the sewage system he feels shouldn't exist.

"_Hm, that feels funny…" _A strange tingling feeling vibrates through every fiber in his body. Not much, but just barely noticeable. And this tingling gave split-second relief to his already aching body. _"I just hope my body is-a ready…"_ A splash comes from down the pipe behind him. He turns around, and sees nothing in the gloom. A river of water passively streams to his right. Suddenly, swaths of Shellcreepers break the surface of the water.

"Mama mia! Too many!" cries Mario as he starts running down the sewers. The Shellcreepers swim close behind him. Some manage to climb onto the walkway and pursue him on foot. Mario tries to make quick turns to escape them, but with every other turn he makes, more Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers block his way and he's forced down another path. "_Sheesh, this chase feels familiar! Come on, Luigi…"_ But after a quick glance, he remembers that his brother isn't at his side.

Finally, a dim light appears at the end of his path. _"I've-a got to get out of the way! Or I'm-a crab's meat!"_ As he gets closer to the light, the tingling in his body grows. The pain in his foot begins to numb a bit, and his legs become more responsive. When his eyes narrow toward the light at the end, he begins to see that it leads to a vertical chamber, with a deep bottom below. _"Well, now or never, I'll need all the luck and strength I've-a got!"_ He picks up speed. Now, only the Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers of a variant color can keep up with him. He runs faster and faster.

Mario nears the entrance into the vertical chamber faster than expected. He briefly eyes one of the horizontal pipes crisscrossing the chamber. "And…nowhoooooaaahh!" At that moment, Mario uses all his momentum and leg power to jump upwards toward the pipe he was aiming to grab. But to his surprise, he greatly overshoots it, flying much higher and farther into the air than expected. Screaming and flailing, he crashes into another horizontal pipe. After getting the wind knocked out of him, he half-consciously holds on to it and waits a few moments to regain his senses.

Mario looks back toward the tunnel he leaped from below, and besides a few Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers who fall off the edge, most of them huddle at the entranceway, slightly confused. Mario slowly sits up. _"That…wow…I never jumped like that before. I wonder why…"_ Suddenly a familiar buzzing sound comes from overhead, and Mario sees a large group of Fighter Flies come down upon him. _"Geez, not now!"_ Mario carefully stands up and balances himself rather decently. When he looks back up, he sees the Fighter Flies hopping down from pipe to pipe that crisscrosses through the chamber. As each fly creature lunges at the plumber, Mario spins, dashes, and leaps out of the way of each individual attempt at his well-being.

After the whole swarm passes him, he looks down and prepares for the Fighter Flies to come flying back up. Strangely enough though, the Fighter Flies, no matter how hard they try, struggle to flap their wings hard enough to come back up. Instead, they leap further and further downward. _"That's…convenient?"_ As Mario stands there momentarily pondering his turn of good fortune, he turns to notice the Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers have finally noticed him, and turn back through the pipe they came from. "Oh no, better get moving before they catch up again!"

So Mario leaps from pipe to pipe to another sewer tunnel, and runs his way through the dim. While he can barely see his way through the sewers, and the pipes feel 'out-of-place', he can still use his 'pipe sense' to feel his way through. Soon, he crosses a bridge over a small chamber, lit by bright torches bolted to the wall. The sudden light briefly blinds the plumber, and he accidently runs into a Fighter Fly resting in the middle of his way. The fly leaps with a yelp, and drops all his coins he was lying on.

"You idiot!" screamed the Fighter Fly in a high pitch, "A thousand stings to you if you can't watch where you're going!" as he flies in circles, he spots the tripped up plumber. He recomposes his outburst, adjusts his glasses, and makes a wide grin. "Well, well, well! Isn't this a little treat." Mario scoots back as the Fighter Fly inches closer and closer, grinning profusely under his glasses. "The others would most certainly love to _meat_ you! Perhaps I should drag you to their hideout for them to feast upon your chubby innards!"

"…chubby?!" retorts Mario, a bit annoyed in the face of danger.

The Fighter Fly flies a pace back. "But fortunately for you, I'm a forgiving time…perhaps." He flies over the small chamber. "You see, I'm not interested in the tyrant's conquest. I merely want the riches of the lands!"

"What tyrant? And…you talk?!"

The Fighter Fly ignores him. "Those coins you so carelessly punted over the edge are all I got."

Mario looks over the edge of the bridge, and sees a few large, glittering coins. "There not too far down. You still fly a lot better than your kind. Why can't you just scoop them up yourself? I'm-a kind of busy…"

The Fighter Fly zips up close to Mario's face. "A thousand furies to you, unless you zip that mustachioed lip of yours! First of all, the physics of _this_ world is abundantly different from the one _I_ came from. So enjoy the _handicap_ while we're under influence of my world's physics! Second, I may be the best flyer of my species, but I don't know if I'll be able to have the strength to fly back up if I go down to get my coins. _Third_…" a smug grin reappears on his face, "it'll be more fun to have your success hanging in the balance."

"So, what? You want me to simply get your coins for you? But what's-a in it for me, if I do this favor for you?"

The Fighter Fly started fuming. "You…a thousand kabooms to you…_you_ are the one who made me drop them! You…" he stops to ponder for a bit. Then he gets an idea. "Ah, ok. You want a deal? Fine. If you ain't satisfied with getting my coins and I don't tell a soul, then how about this: you get me my coins in _twenty_ seconds, and I'll tell you how to get to my hideout."

Mario looks stunned. "You…You'd really do that, against your own kind?"

"They ain't my kind if I'm running away." He says quickly. "But you'd better be more concerned about what'll happen to _you_ if you don't get my coins in twenty seconds." He leans forward, grinning. "So…do we have deal?"

Mario clenches his fist and adjusts his cap. "Deal."

"Good. Your time starts now."

"Wait, what? Can't I get a second look?"

"Nineteen."

Mario runs off the edge taking a quick glance at the area he has to cover. He lands on the ground, slightly shaken up by the impact.

"Eighteen."

He quickly eyes the first coin a few meters off to his left, and runs after it.

"Seventeen."

Just as he's about to nab it, he is awestruck by how it is levitating mere centimeters off the ground, and it rotates in a rhythmic movement. It's also nearly the size of his own hand.

"Fourteen."

Mario snaps out of his amazement, grabs the coin, and looks around the area again, eyeing the other glinting nine coins.

"Twelve."

He quickly runs around the base of the chamber, grabbing two more coins.

"Ten."

He jumps up to a ledge, where two coins are close together.

"Nine."

He jumps up onto a pipeline jutting out of the side, and falls back down a bit lower, so that he can grab two more coins.

"Seven."

Mario has to jump over and under various pipelines, and he spots one more coin hovering over a gap. He jumps toward it…

"Five."

…and misses! But by quickly turning his body so as to push his legs off a wall, he rebounds back to the coin.

"Four."

He runs toward one of the last two coins near the top of the chamber, knowing that the other is on the opposite end. He catches up to the coin, hovering just in front of an open pipe.

"Three."

He looks back, figuring he has no chance to reach to the other side where the last coin is. He also notices that it, too, is hovering just in front of a pipe opening.

"Two."

"Screw it!" He lunges head first into the pipe opening

"You must see it hopeless now," hopped the Fighter Fly with glee, "with just one second left, you…"

Suddenly, Mario appears out of the other pipe opening, and quickly dives toward the coin, clasping it tight in his left hand while holding the other nine under his right arm. "I…got 'em!" he gasps. As he exhaustingly leaps back up to the bridge, the Fighter Fly looks at him in awe, then quickly recomposes himself and gives a big shrug.

"Well, I don't know how perfect that was going to get, but I bet that show of exercise extended your life by a few years. A test of skill to say the least."

Mario dropped the stack of coins right in front of him. The Fighter Fly quickly zooms up to keep it contained on the spot. Mario still tries to catch his breath from the workout. "Alright, Fighter Fly…"

"Actually, my name's _Flighter_ Fly" he says as he glares at Mario for dropping the coins so hastily.

Mario rolls his eyes. "Whatever. I this _mini_ game for you, so how about you hold your end of the bargain?"

"Yeah…the deal…" Flighter Fly mulls over his coins for a bit. "My brother's going to hate me for this…" he mumbles. "Alright, fine. While I don't have a map, you'll probably follow the general directions I give. And there simple, so simple! You're going to have to backtrack a bit, and then head in the northeast direction." A huge smile reappears on his face as he flies onto his coin pile. "And a thousand plagues to you if you tell a soul about me!"

"If you're-a misleading me, then I will not hold your secret for very long." And with that, Mario walked back out of the chamber and into the sewer system once more.

* * *

"Did you hear that, Lord Bowser?" says a Koopa Troopa next to the Koopa King, looking behind him where Captain Toad passed out. Fortunately, Toad had fallen backwards and just out of sight behind the sharp curve of the valley.

"Must be the sound of success, Private!" laughed the Koopa King.

Toad slowly gains consciousness, and sits up, rubbing his head. "Ooooh…wha?" Toad stands up, leaning against the valley wall with one hand, and using his stick in his other hand for further support. "Man, I had the strangest dream" he mumbled, "And I saw the Koopa King…but that can't be. Nobody's seen the heir to the Koopas since the Mushroom War. Why…" Toad looks around the corner, and he nearly yelps, had he not covered his mouth with his hand.

He sees a huge, dragonish Koopa and a regular, green-shelled Koopa Troopa standing in the middle of an enclosed, circular field, surrounded by the walls of the valley. Many other Koopas and Paratroopas wander about, chatting or carrying materials. Fortunately, all of them either have their backs turned to Toad, or are just plain busy. Most of their attention is placed on a large, open pipe sticking out of the valley wall on the other side of the field.

Toad takes in the unwavering sight of the Koopa King himself: hulking mass, fiery red mane-like hair, sharped horns and claws and shell, spiky collars on his neck and arms, and a snout right above his huge mouth. Even though he was many meters away, his presence was still almost unbearable for Toad to endure. Toad also notices that the Koopa Troopa next to him was twirling a small rod between his fingers in his right hand, occasionally clicking a button on it that caused any sort of small, conceivable weapon to pop out, and then back in again.

Suddenly, some commotion can be heard from the pipe. Then a weird, metal contraption gets pushed out by some Shellcreepers. Then another metal machine, followed by one more. The Shellcreepers push the metal contraptions over to one side of the field, and then walk back into the pipe.

"A nice haul once again" chuckles Bowser. "I wonder what world that came from."

"_Another world?"_ Toad gasps.

"With so many worlds at your fingertips," says Private Koopa, "imagine what great 'toys' we can play with!"

"You got that right!" says Bowser.

"_M-m-many worlds?!" _trembles Toad.

Bowser turns to Private Koopa. "Well, I'm a busy boss. So many armies to make, and so many kingdoms to nab. And you're gonna be busy, too. You better not forget that under-cover mission I've got for you."

Koopa slightly sweat-drops as he gives off a small laugh. "Of course. I've got tabs on that kingdom you were interested in…investing."

"And those past nuisances?"

"Shellkripper no longer bullies, King Mousta is decimated with the Dry Dry Kingdom, Tanuk the Tanooki has struck his last trick, Mutha Blubba is a mere spirit in the wind, Sensei Hex has much to mull over, Bonetail is kept in check, and your biggest rival Juggernaut Bro…banished."

Bowser roars with pleasure. "Very impressive! Keep that up, and I won't have to keep tabs on you anymore than I already do."

"Thank you, boss" Private Koopa says half-gratefully, and half-flatly.

Just then, a Magikoopa comes flying down into the valley, landing next to Bowser. "Your rueliness, your troops believe they found the perfect site for your castle, and they'd like your utmost opinion."

"About time, Kamek! And it better be good. I'd hate to wait a week longer for this. And I have the Mushroom Kingdom to _pay_ a visit to soon." Bowser devilishly grins at the mention of the kingdom, making Toad shake uncontrollably in his hiding spot.

"M-m-mushroom K-kingdom, next?!"Toad squeaks.

"Of course, Lord Bowser" says Kamek, "Any other requests you need done?"

"Yes." Bowser says, "Take Private Koopa to the Jewelry Kingdom, _after_ you drop me off at the site. Oh, and get a hot plate of meat ready. All this surveying works up an appetite."

"One tenderloin meal coming up, your scarfiness." Kamek beckons a couple of Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bros to prepare their flying blocks for Bowser and Private Koopa's transportation.

Bowser turns toward his Koopa Troopas, still busy with the metal contraptions, as he is slowly lifted into the air by the blocks. "And you blokes down there; make sure you get those weapons pushed aside and covered! We're going to have to make room for more tomorrow. Be sure to come back before _I_ do that afternoon!"

Kamek leads the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bros carrying Bowser and Private Koopa up and out of the valley. The Koopa Troopas groan as they start lugging metal parts around the area. Meanwhile, Toad looks away from the sight, and tries to process everything he just heard.

"_The princess has got to know! The Koopa King himself was here! He's coming to our kingdom soon! I must report to…"_ Toad snaps out of his train of thoughts and grows highly alert. "General Toad! I gotta run back, fast! Oh, I hope he's still alright…and not too mad at me."

* * *

Mario briskly walks through the sewer line he was directed to follow. Even with the few twists and turns, his 'pipe sense' keeps his inner compass aligned. Finally, both his eyes and gut feeling detect a brightly lit chamber ahead.

"Finally!" he cheers, "I hope there are-a still a few turtles and flies waiting around for me to kick out!"

He rushes into the brick chamber, and it is a sight to behold. Unlike the dank and grimy parts elsewhere in the sewers, this large chamber is surprisingly clean. Water rushes smoothly around the perimeter of the cylindrical room, like a moat. Blue, rubber bricks crisscross along the walls and across the room, giving the impression of floor levels. Torches align between the 'floors' of bricks. In contrast with the human-sized brick sewers Mario was crossing through, two, smaller green pipes lay on their side on opposite ends of the chamber, on level ground.

The biggest feature in the chamber was a blown-out hole in a section of the chamber's walls. While it wasn't lit properly, Mario does spot four Shellcreepers who happened to crawl out of it. The turtles quickly notice the plumber, and charge at him.

"Oh good!" Mario grins, "A little demonstration." He jumps over the first three that attack him, but puts his leg in front of the last one, at the last second. The straggling Shellcreeper trips over the plumbers shoe, and falls over on its back. Mario swiftly kicks the shell, and sends it spinning into the streaming water. Unfortunately for the Shellcreeper, the current is too strong for it to paddle to safety. Fortunately for Mario, it gets swept into a drain hole.

The three remaining Shellcreepers are surprised by how sudden their comrade got flushed away, but quickly point their angry beady eyes at their red-clad adversary. "Come on, Shellcreepers," jeers Mario, "let's-a see what you got!" Then they charge at each other.

"Hold it!" shouted a voice high above. "To me."

Mario and the Shellcreepers stop in their place. As the turtle creatures turn back and enter one of the small green pipes, the plumber turns his head up to see who the new guy was. It ends up being a Fighter Fly; a jagged, red one with a white mask.

"_You_ talk?" gasped Mario

"What's the matter, _little_ man?" sneers the red fly, "Never seen a talking fly before?

Mario grows a little red in the face at the word 'little'. "Um, anyway, who are-a you supposed to be dressed up as?"

"I am Frighter Fly. You must be that red guy all my troops have been buzzing about recently. And I must say, you're one to talk. What are you dressed up for anyway? A lumbering convention?"

"I'm a plumber. It's my job to clean out pipes and drains filled with scums like you! And my, what an original name, for a leader of turtles, crabs, and flies, I presume?"

"You could say that. I prefer the term 'daring explore' better. I lead my kind, and other outcast species, to where no other has dared to go."

"More like conqueror! Why the heck would you go up there and trash my city?"

"Trash it? I believe _your_ ammunition from _your_ infantry and tanks, fired by _your_ people are doing way more damage to _your_ city than _my_ soliders are. Heck, I thought you'd find it grateful that we're cleaning _your_ messes for you." Even when Mario can't see his face, he can still feel his stare through the mask.

"What are-a you up to?" Mario starts to beam with strife. "I didn't come crawling all the way down here just to catch a quick chat with the lord of the flies. I came down here, because it's-a my business; my _plumbing_ business. You came up there and threatened the lives of many good people up there. I care about my friends and…my brother most of all. I must _protect_ him and make sure he lives in a peaceful place he prefers. And you are-a not welcome here if all you cause is-a chaos! So take your buddies and buzz off!"

"A worthy speech indeed." Frighter Fly claps his claws, which Mario just notices are claws. "But we've been promised too nicely by a usurper. He needs things that _your_ world's got." At that moment, the three Shellcreepers crawl out of two small green pipes at the top 'floor' where Frighter Fly is perched. Each of them carries a POW block on their back. "Now, I'd suggest you turn around, as many more of my comrades are coming this way. We will outnumber you; we will outmatch you; and this little 'game' of yours, will be over. So, what will it be, _hero_?"

Mario tightens his fists. "Let's-a go! I'm-a ready to give you all the old Brooklyn one-two!"

"Then you shall be our first intended casualty. Everyone, attack at will!

And with that, two of the three Shellcreepers dropped their POW blocks seconds apart from each other at Mario. Mario jumped into the air to dodge the first one, setting off an earth-shaking thud, while the second one lands just as he plants his feet on the ground. He falls over backwards. But he quickly springs back up and leaps up to the first level of bricks. As they get closer and closer to each other, one of the Shellcreepers manages to get one level away from Mario.

"Ha! I still remember how this works!" Without a second hesitation, Mario jumps up and punches the blue bricks the Shellcreeper is walking on. The surprised turtle flips over and gets stuck on its back, while Mario keeps moving up to his level. "Hm, my hand doesn't hurt as much as the last time I did this." Shrugging aside the lack of pain, he rushes over and kicks the helpless Shellcreeper into the streaming water below. Mario repeats the same process with the second Shellcreeper who tried to chuck a POW block at him.

However, the remaining Shellcreeper catches up to Mario on the same floor, and quickly flings the POW block over to him.

"Oh no you don't!" Without thinking, Mario leaps at the incoming block, and punches it. It flattens, and an even more rumbling boom erupts from it. While the plumber himself stays relatively un-phased, the Shellcreeper gets flung up a bit and turned over, Frighter Flydrops his mask, and the opening where the water comes from starts to crack open wider, flooding more water into the chamber. The water level only rises about a couple of feet, but that's enough to cover the entire ground floor in water. Mario kicks over the Shellcreeper and watches as it and the mask float away downstream. Mario looks up toward Frighter Fly, and his jaw drops. Staring down at him is the blood-red face of a rugged fly, with sharp teeth and black, void-like eyes.

"How _dare_ you!" screeched Frighter Fly, "You flooded our major pathway into and out of this world! Now we can't bring the tanks and jets back until we fix this mess." Just then, more Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers, and Fighter Flies spill out of the green pipes above. "Your luck is up now, jump-man! The cavalry has arrived, and you will pay for our delay! Attack, my comrades, for the Koopa King's wishes!" And with that, the Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers charge down, while the Fighter Flies hop their way gradually.

"Mama mia!" cried Mario, briefly stunned at the sheer number of enemies. He brushes his worries aside. "I can't give up now. If I run, I'll just disappoint Luigi in how cowardly I am. I have to show him that bravery and sheer will and drive _can_ conquer all!" And he leaps into the fray!

Mario quickly knocks over many of the oncoming enemies. Although unlike Shellcreepers, the Sidesteppers take two hits from underneath to trip them up. And even more annoying that that are the Fighter Flies, who hop like crazy in order to keep away from the plumber's uppercuts. In due time, the huge number of enemies prove too much for Mario to keep at bay, and he is forced to leap over many to dodge their attacks, or occasionally misses a few of each kind he did manage to knock over. These lucky victims soon change color; purple Shellcreepers, blue Sidesteppers, and blue Fighter Flies come back upright and run after Mario with more gusto.

Frighter Fly watches the plumber with seething delight. "Gonna have to quicken things up a bit." He hops over to a blue tank on his level. "Hope the red man likes a _cold_ war!" He takes a hose attached to it, and sprays the bricks he's standing on with nitroglycerin.

Mario feels a slight chill in the room, and looks up. "Hey, fly boy, you and your troops got _cold feet_ yet?"

"You think you're _so cool_, do you punning man? Well, say hello to my Freezie friends!"

Drops begin to form out of the icy bricks, and the drops turn into Freezies. These stalagmite-like ice creatures slide along the floor, down toward the plumber. Mario tries to jump his way toward them, and does manage to break apart one of them by punching right below it. However, one Freezie manages to get to Mario's level, and melts into the brick, turning it into ice. Mario slips and falls down to the level below, where a blue Sidestepper gleefully waited for him to fall on his pincer. Mario yelps in pain at the pinch, falling further down.

The Freezies each pick a spot of bricks to stop and melt into. Now over half of the floors get covered with ice. Some of the enemies take the opportunity to vibrate furiously, and change color. The ones that already changed color turn into red Shellcreepers, magenta Sidesteppers, and orange Fighter Flies. Now one of the orange Fighter Flies reach a half-dazed Mario in one leap, and tackle him, sending him down again. A green Shellcreeper takes its opportunity and bites Mario. The plumber screams in pain as he feels his wounds bleeding under his clothes.

"Give it up, _hero_!" jeers Frighter Fly, "I see that you endure more than most your kind most likely would, but even you have limits on your life."

Mario tries to get up, but the icy floor he lies on is just too slippery for his bruised body to get a grip on. "I…never give up! I'll still find a way…"

"In that condition? One more major blow…" Right on cue, a few of his troops gather next to the plumber, and with one push, Mario is sent falling off the edge, toward the water below.

"Oh, mama mia!" he says as he flails his arms up above his head.

"…and it's game over for you!"

As the shallow water reaches closer and closer, all Mario could think about was Luigi. "I'm-a so sorry, bro!" he says, shedding a few tears as he accepts his inevitable end…

"No, Marioooooooo!" shouts a familiar voice. Through the main entrance, Luigi comes flailing in, holding two POW blocks in his hands and two hammers in his belt loops. He quickly throws one of the blocks onto the ground, toppling many of the enemies onto their backs. Luigi leaps sideways and catches his brother just before he hits the watery ground.

"…Luigi?" mutters a dazed Mario.

"I got you bro!" says Luigi, tears welling up in his eyes.

"You came? Oh, Weegee, you came! How?"

"I can never allow myself to lose you that easily! It was just a matter of guts, frisking the enemy, and following my 'pipe sense' to find you in the belly of the beast!"

Luigi helps Mario up to his feet. "But, you were right. I never should have rushed in like that. This problem became much bigger than I ever thought it could."

"And it's way worse! Those critters are taking our weapons and using them for some bigger scheme."

"I know. I never saw this coming. And you were right about me; I just…I just got so wrapped up in my craving for an adventure, that I used the excuse that I was-a doing it to save you…when I should have been saving you by your side." Mario splashes the water in a fit of shame.

"Mario…"

"You must think I'm-a weakly brother. There's-a no way we can beat them…"

"Hey, bro! Listen. There was never a day gone by where I thought you were nothing but weak. No. You are strong: strong-willed, strong-fitted, and strong-hearted. You were always there to carry my end of the burden when I wasn't strong enough, or brave enough, to solve our problems. And I love you for that. I have, and still will, follow you to the ends of the world." Luigi pulls out one of his hammers, and passes it to Mario. "So now that we're near the end, how about you show me that heroic leader I know my brother is?"

Mario slowly takes the hammer into his hand, checking the grip. He gives the hammer a good test swing. A smile slowly creeps under his mustache. He sheds a tear. "I…oh Luigi!" He reaches forward and gives his brother a huge hug.

The two step back. "Now, come on, bro. We're the Mario Brothers!"

"Oh yeah!" he chants

"And we can do anythi…."

"Another color-happy lumber man?!" screams Frighter Fly up on the top level. The brothers look up to see all the enemies back on their feet and glaring down at them. "That's it! No more mister nice fly! Get them out! Get them both! Now!"

"I see he caught your sense of jokes" Luigi whispers to his brother.

"Well, there's no turning back now. Time to kick off all these pests!" says Mario as he grips his hammer tightly. "Here we go!"

"Yeah!"

Mario and Lugi storm up to the first level, knocking enemies over from underneath. They take care to knock over certain enemies that were in a position that would block the others from proceeding further down. With a bunch of them trapped, Luigi flips them over as well, while Mario jumps onto their level, knocking them off the bricks in a frenzy. With each careful jump, kick, and hammer-swing, they send the enemies falling into the drink one by one in quick succession. Even the fastest of the bunch prove no match for the brothers' onslaught. Joys of laughter cry out from the plumbers hammering away at their work.

As they get closer and closer to the top, Frighter Fly gets increasingly worried.

"No, no, no! You ain't reaching the final level!" Frighter Fly starts to pick up some POW blocks, and hurls them at the brothers. The brothers merely jump out of the way, and sometimes hit them to their benefit.

Now at the third level from the top, Frighter Fly frantically throws block after block, making it a bit more difficult for the brothers to pass by the remaining red Shellcreeper, magenta Sidestepper, and orange Fighter Fly.

"Man, that leader of theirs looks hideous!" Luigi gasps in disgust.

Mario takes a moment to take in the situation. The Fighter Fly leaps from behind them on the upper level, while the Sidestepper runs in at them from the front on their level, and the Shellcreeper in parallel just above the crab.

As the wheels in Mario's head continue to turn, a smile grows larger and larger. "Hey, bro, how about we try that 'special combo'?"

Luigi stares at him for a moment, then he smiles, too. "Oh, you mean _that_ one? I like your thinking!"

Mario leaps up, just as the Fighter Fly lands directly above him. Mario punches the brick above, sending the Fighter Fly toppling back. Luigi begins to charge forward, with Mario behind him. As Luigi swings his hammer back over his head to hit the Sidestepper, Mario quickly grabs hold of the head of the hammer. Luigi swings forward, sending Mario flying above him onto the level above, and into the Shellcreeper. Mario swings his own hammer at the last second to blindside the Shellcreeper, and the turtle falls all the way into the water. Luigi also makes quick work of the Sidestepper, hammering him off the edge.

"And you had that coming, too!" Luigi shouts below at the falling Sidestepper.

While Luigi goes to combat the Fighter Fly, Mario looks up to Frighter Fly, now a mere level away.

"This is unacceptable!" Frighter Fly bellows. "I ain't flying away from this! I wil not accept defeat!"

"Not so fun when the shoes on the other foot, is it?" says Mario.

The red plumber runs after Frighter Fly, punching the icy bricks above him. Frighter Fly hops and leaps every way he can, while ice drops begin dripping off, stinging Mario if he gets in contact with one.

"Okay, if I can't punch you over from underneath…" Mario find an opening and leaps to the top level. "…then I guess I have to take you head on!"

Frighter Fly grabs hold of one last POW block. "Bring it, reddie!"

The two stare into each other's faces. Luigi finally knocks over the Fighter Fly, and looks up at the showdown between his red-clad brother and the red fly.

"Come on, bro!" says Luigi as he makes his way up.

Frighter Fly hops toward Mario. Mario bolts toward Frighter Fly. They charge closer and closer. Frigher Fly makes another strong leap.

"_Ha, knew it!"_ Mario assures himself, and he leaps forward and swings his hammer where he timed Frighter Fly would land. But Frighter Fly simply beats his wings hard and stays a float, while Mario misses his mark.

"Ha, you missed!" Jeers Frighter Fly, and he chucks his POW block straight down. But Mario spins face-up mid-leap, and swings his hammer upwards. It connects with the POW block.

BOOOOOOM!

A huge, concussive blast erupts from the block. Luigi dives down for cover, and Mario stays unaffected. Unfortunately for Frighter Fly, the epicenter of the blast comes right in front of his face.

"Noooooooo!" he screams, as the badly battered Fighter Fly falls to the bottom of the chamber, and gets washed away down the sewer drain.

Mario and Luigi remained stunned for a few moments, in relative silence. Then Mario jumps down to Luigi, and gives a hand.

"We did it" says Mario quietly.

"We did it" says Luigi as he gets helped up.

"We did it!" they say simultaneously as they hug each other with delight. Outbursts of their laughter echo throughout the sewers.

* * *

Toad runs to the end of the valley, when General Toad and the other Toads are just about to enter it. Goombas and a lone Koopa Troopa lie unconscious around the battle site.

"Where have you been?!" shouts the general, furious to his boiling point. "Had a green shell not come by and plow through a line of Goombas, we would've never come back for you!"

"I'm sorry sir!" Toad says, dipping his head down and slightly shaking in place. "But I…"

"Why didn't _you_ wait by the windmill like I told you to? That thing was blowing like crazy over here and blew our cover, literally! And it's so busted, that a windmill blade is blocking the door. We wasted our time trying to bust you out of there, thinking you were still trapped in there. When really, you were frolicking off who knows where!"

"But, sir…"

"So where did you run off to, captain, huh?! What was so important, that you had to drop everything and endanger the mission?"

"I…I…I saw the…the Koopa King!"

General Toad stands there stunned. The other Toads all frantically chatter to each other in fear.

"You…_saw_…the Koopa King?" the general says as calmly as he can.

"Y-yes, sir! And he's got plans, _big_ plans, for the Mushroom Kingdom!"

The other Toad captains bicker more feverishly now.

General Toad walks up close to Toad, staring him straight in the eyes. "Let's go, soldiers. Mission's over. We're packing up and reporting back to the princess." He starts walking back, talking over his shoulder. "Our comrade Toad is going to have some _major_ reporting to do!"

* * *

Mario and Luigi reach an exit of the sewers, leaning on each other for support. They can just see the outlining light from the manhole cover above them.

"Well, that was quite an adventure, wasn't it?" says Mario

"Sure was; nothing like it!" says Luigi. The two start climbing up a ladder to the surface. "You think we'll ever have more adventures like that again?"

Just as Luigi lifts of the manhole cover, a huge, cheering crowd surrounds them. The two are shocked with delight, as the people applaud. Pauline stands the closest to them, waving and blowing a kiss in Mario's direction. The two brothers grow a bit red with shy embarrassment.

"Three cheers for the Mario Brothers!" cries Pauline over the bustling crowd.

"Hurray!" shouts one.

"You go, Luigi!" says another

"You saved our city!"

"My heroes!"

They all swarm the brothers, lifting them high above their heads and parading them through Brooklyn, shouting, "Mario! Mario! Mario! Mario!" Mario and Luigi wave their hands out to the crowd, bright smiles all around.

"Yes, Weegee," says Mario, "I think we'll have many more adventures to come!"

* * *

**Author's Note: For those who are reading this story, I thank you! I tried to make this adaptation of the origin story (centered on the arcade game "Mario Bros") as faithful as possible to the characters that come from this series, as well as a bit of a spin of my own. I might be a bit busy from time to time, but I still eagerly want to tackle adapting as many Mario games as feasibly possible! Stay tuned, and thanks again!**


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